A scientist's aim in a discussion with his colleagues is not to persuade, but to clarify.

If the thickness is larger than the critical value I can produce an explosion.

If one knows only what one is told, one does not know enough to be able to arrive at a well-balanced decision.

Those individuals who give moral considerations a much greater weight than considerations of expediency represent a comparatively small minority, five percent of the people perhaps. But, In spite of their numerical inferiority, they play a major role in our society because theirs is the voice of the conscience of society.

I am thinking of keeping a diary, not with the intend to publish it, merely to record the facts for the information of God, in case God does not know my version of the facts.

A great power imposes the obligation of exercising restraint, and we did not live up to this obligation. I think this affected many of the scientists in a subtle sense, and it diminished their desire to continue to work on the bomb.

If you want to succeed in the world, you don't have to be much cleverer than other people. You just have to be one day earlier.